Creasing mechanism



March 31, 1936. c KNQWLTQN 2,035,553

CREASING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 8, 1953 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JVVE/VTUR/ MC;I93 3 (hm/190mm 31, 1936. i Q Q KNQWLTONI 2,035,553

CREASING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z4 Fig. 5

AWE/V705 Wm. M

H EAMM I Patented Mar. 31, 1936 GREASING MECHANISM Cutler D. Knowlton,Beverly, Mass, assignor to Hoague-Sprague Corporation, Lynn, Mass, acorporation of Massachusetts Application December 8, 1933, Serial No.701,510'

26 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanisms for producing creases in sucharticles as blanks of pasteboard or the like from which box-parts orsimilar objects are to be formed.

7 In the preparation of blanks for setting up as boxes, the lines alongwhich the various portions are folded are defined by creases. To permitready folding without materially weakening the stock, the creasingpressure should be relatively heavy, and it is advantageous to separatethe laminae of the pasteboard from one another along the crease-lines.This should be accomplished without rupturing said laminae and thusweakening the blank at the creases. It is a common practice increasingmechanism to bring spaced folding blades into engagement withone side of the blank-material and an intermediate or male blade againstthe opposite side of said material, to cause the spaced blades to beforced toward each other to pinch the crease as a result of theresistance encountered as they move along the intermediate blade. Suchan arrangement obviously strains the laminae by the inward thrust, thedanger of breaking and weakening the stock increasing with increasedeffectiveness of the pinch. There is, further, ordinarily provided noway in which the time and degree of the pinching action may becontrolled. It is an object of my invention to effect the formation ofrelatively flaccid creases along which the strength of the stock ismaintained, readily controllable mechanism being provided for thispurpose.

The above object I attain by the use of opposite movable supports, whichmay consist of rotatable rolls, one support carrying movable upon itspaced creasing members and the other an intermediate member arranged toenter between the spaced members. All these members travel under theinfluence of the supports with advancing material to act successivelythereon and may be in the form ofblades. The spaced members are moved ina novel manner in predetermined time-relation in the operating cycle, asunder the power of driving means for the creasing mechanism. Preferablythey are engaged by actuating means movable independently of thecreasing members by contact means rendered effective by the movement ofone of the supports, this contact means being shown herein as a normallystationary member. With this arrangement, the engagement of the spacedouter members to pinch the stock is made positive, being independent intheir action on the material being creased and without the introductionof operating movement tending to tension and break the laminae. Togovern the material-receiving space between the outer members, thenormal position of the actuating means may be varied; a variation in theextent of movement in the actuating means controls the force with whichthe stock is pinched; and an alteration in the time in the operatingcycle at which the actuating means is moved determines the manner inwhich the spaced and intermediate members co-operate. The control of theextent and time of movement of the actuating means is best exercisedthrough adjustment of the contact member. In the preferred form of theinvention, one roll of a supporting pair carries the intermediate bladeand the other the spaced blades. The actuating members are furnished bybars, and between the blades and bars are cam devices to communicate themovement of the bars to the blades. These cam devices may consist ofangular depressions in the blades and bars, in which depressions aresuch contact members as balls. Movement is preferably imparted to thebars by a normally stationary head or contact member mounted upon theframe of the mechanism. Adjustments of this head with relation to thebars, to control the time and extent of bar-movement, are provided byvariation in the position of the head-mounting upon the frame and theposition of the head upon the mounting.

One only of several possible embodiments of my invention is shown in theaccbmpanying drawings. Here, I

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved creasing mechanism;

Fig. 2, a broken section on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the contact-head and theadjacent portion of the lower creasing roll;

Fig. 4, an enlarged section on the line IVIV of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5, an enlarged sectional detail showing the creasing action.

At Ill appears portions of a frame, which may be that of a machine forforming box-blanks. This carries fixed bearings l2, 12 for the journalsof a. lower cylindrical creasing roll l4. Adjustably spaced at It fromthe lower bearings are bearings I8, IS in which is journaled an uppercylindrical creasing roll 20. Between the two rolls the material to becreased travels. Springs 22 hold the roll 2|] normally in operatingrelation but permit it to yield to prevent breakage if clogging occurs.Spur-gearing 24 compels the rolls to rotate together. The upper roll hasadjustably secured by slot-and-screw connections 26, upon alongitudinally extending flattened portion, an elongated mounting-block28 (Fig. 4) This block is grooved parallel to the axis of the roll toreceive a mounting-bar 30, and the bar has a longitudinal slot in whichis clamped a thin male creasing blade 32.

The present invention is particularly concerned with the arrangement ofthe lower roll l4. It is longitudinally grooved to receive an extendedmounting-block 34, secured in place by screws 36 passing throughopenings in the roll and threaded into the block. There is clearanceboth between the block and side-walls of the groove and between thescrews and the walls of the rollopenings. This permits the creasingmembers mounted upon the block to be adjusted peripherally of the roll.The adjustment may conveniently be effected by pull-screws 3'! andpushscrews 38 (Fig. 1) engaging the roll and block in the customarymanner near their ends. The block has a longitudinal groove, which, atits center, is provided with a rib 39 and, at its opposite sides, withparallel ways 40, 40 (Fig. 5). At each side of the rib, pivotallysupported by the engagement of a reduced edge 42 with the juncture ofthe rib and adjacent bloclz-wall, is an outer creasing blade 44extending transversely to the direction of advance of the material forthe desired distance along the roll l4. At 46 each blade 44 projectsoutside the periphery of the roll and is provided with an edge similarto that at 42, but here serving to cooperate with one side of the blade32 to pinch against it the material to be creased. Stop-blocks 48 (Fig.2) secured to the mounting-block 34 at the ends of the rib 39 retain theblades 44 against longitudinal displacement. Outside each blade 44 is anactuating bar 50 arranged for limited longitudinal movement along one ofthe ways 40. The two bars are preferably attached to each other to moveas a unit. At intervals along their lengths, screws 52 pass throughcounterbored openings in one bar and are threaded into the other,drawing the inner faces of the bars against the ends of spacing thimbles54 surrounding the screws. These thimbles are received by elongatedslots 56 in the blades 44 to permit the longitudinal movement of thebars. The opposite ends of the bars have between them connecting andspacing blocks 58 and 60, respectively, secured by screws 62. In eachblade and the corresponding actuating bar are pairs of registeringcam-depressions 64, shown as conical, and in each pair rests aconnecting member in the form of a ball 66. Expansion-springs 68 areseated at their opposite extremities in alined recesses in the blades,holding said blades separated in their normal positions and forcing theinclined cam-walls of each blade-depression against the correspondingball 66. The ball, in turn, is urged against the inclined walls of thebar-depression. The effect of this contact between the balls and wallsof the depressions is to cam the connected bars 50, 50 to the left(Figs. 1 and 2) to the extent permitted by an adjusting stop-screw lthreaded through a depending portion of the connecting block 58 andbearing against the adjacent end of the mounting-block 34. A set-screwl2, forcing a soft metal plug 14 against the screw ill maintains theadjustment. This determines the normal separation of the blades 44 andtherefore the width of the space into which the material to be creasedis forced by the blade 32.

To close the blades 44 upon the stock to effect the pinching of thecrease, a contact member is provided for moving the blade-actuating bars50 longitudinally and, through the cam-walls of the depressions 64 andthe balls 66, forcing the engaging ends 46 of the blades toward eachother by swinging said blades about their pivotal portions 42. Thiscontact member is shown as a normally stationary head 1.6 havingoppositely inclined surfaces l8, 18 (Fig. 3) lying in the path ofsimilarly inclined surfaces upon the connecting block 66 of the bars. Asthe roll 14 rotates and the block 60 revolves, said block strikes thehead and is forced to the right (Fig. 1) against the expansive force ofthe springs 68, which are holding the balls 66 seated in thecam-depressions 64. This shifts the bar-depressions correspondingly and,by urging their walls against the balls, and said balls against thewalls of the blade-depressions, carries the blade-ends 46 toward eachother and toward the intermediate blade 32 and the interposed stock. Theperiod in the operating cycle at which the head acts to close the bladesmay be altered by mounting said head for adjustment in a generallyperipheral direction in respect to the roll l4, though as illustratedthe change of position is more exactly tangential. The head is carriedby a block 86 bearing upon an inner surface of the frame and providedwith two horizontal slots 82 through which pass screws 84 threaded intoa yoke-piece 86 engaging an outer frame-surface. By loosening the screwsand moving the block 85 to a new position, the action of the head may bemade to occur in different angular positions of the roll and of theblades 44. The amount of pressure applied by the blades may be varied byadjusting the extent to which they approach each other. For thispurpose, the head 75 has a shank 90 movable through an opening in itsmounting-block 80 and splined therein to prevent rotation. An adjustingcollar 92 is threaded upon the shank adjacent to the head and whenturned in contact with the block 80 will shift the head toward the pathof the contact-end of the block 60. To secure the head in position, arod 94, movable vertically in an opening in the block 30 has a groove 96through which the shank 90 passes. The upper extremity of the rod isthreaded and has a nut 98 resting upon the block 80. By turning the nut,the rod may be drawn up and the head-shank locked by engagement with itof a wall of the groove.

To briefly outline the operation of the mechanism, the rolls i2 and H!are rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4 of thedrawings, and the material to be creased, shown in B in Fig. 5, isadvanced continuously between them. The blades 32 and 44, 44 thereforeengage the material once for each operating cycle occurring during acomplete revolution of said blades. As the blades 44, 44 approach thematerial they are spaced at the edges 46 to the maximum extent, thisbeing determined by adjustment of the screw it. The edge of the blade 32strikes the material and gradually forces it between spaced blades, thusproducing a crease b (Fig. At a time fixed by the position peripherallyof the roll of the block 88 carrying the head 16, the actuating unit 50,56 will be moved to the right (Fig. 1), and, through the balls 66 andthe walls of the depressions which contain them, will cam the blades 44,44 toward the opposite sides of the blade 32, pinching the stock againstthe latter. This movement is effected wholly under the power of themechanism, independently of the stock. By the adjustment of the headjust mentioned, this action may occur as the stock and blade 32 areentering the space between the blades 44, when the depth of the creasehas reached a maximum, or when the blade 32 is being withdrawn.Preferably, one of the two last-mentioned relations is established. Ifthe maximum pressure is exerted just as the direction of relationbetween the blades is changing, as appears inFig. 5, no force will beapplied inwardly along the walls of the crease, and, consequently, therewill be no danger of straining the laminae of the material over the edgeof the blade 32 and rupturing them. If it is desired to positivelyproduce the opposite effect, or to set up stresses exerted outwardlyalong the intermediate blade to loosen and separate the layers from oneanother, a completion of the pinch is brought about after the blades 32and it, 44 have passed the center. There is, at that time, a componentof the applied force parallel to, and exerted outwardly along theopposite sides of the intermediate blade 32, tending to slip the layersover one another without encountering the resistance offered by the edgeof the intermediate blade. The force with which the blades 44, 44 arepressed against the blade 32, and therefore the crease-setting andlaminae-separating action, may be altered by adjustment of thecontacthead by the collar 92.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 01" the United States is:

1. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite movable supports, an innercreasing member carried by one support, spaced outer creasing membersmovable upon the other support and each provided with a reduced edge forcooperation with the inner member, the creasing members traveling underthe influence of the supports with advancing material to actsuccessively thereon, an actuating member for the outer creasing membersmovable upon the support therewith, and means for moving the actuatingmember upon its support in predetermined time-relation in the operatingcycle to force the reduced edge of each outer creasing member toward theinner creasing member toproduce a series of pinchcreases in thematerial.

2. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite movable supports, an innercreasing member carried by one support, spaced outer creasing membersmovable upon the other support and each provided with a reduced edge forcooperation with the inner member, the creasing members traveling underthe influence of the supports with advancing material to actsuccessively thereon, an actuating member for the outer creasing membersmovable upon the support therewith, means for moving the actuatingmember upon its support in predetermined time-relation in the operatingcycle to force the reduced edge of each outer creasing member toward theinner creasing member to produce a series of pinch-creases in thematerial, and cam devices through which the movement of the actuatingmember is transmited to the outer creasing members.

3. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite movable supports, an innercreasing member carried by one support, spaced outer creasing membersmovable upon the other support and each provided with'a reduced edge forcooperation with the inner member, the creasing members traveling underthe influence of the supports with advancing material to actsuccessively thereon and being elongated transversely to the directionof advance, an actuating member for the outer creasing members movableupon the support therewith and longitudinally thereof, and means forreciprocating the actuating member upon its support in predeterminedtime-relation in the operating cycle to force the reduced edge of eachouter creasing member toward the inner creasing member to produce aseries of pinch-creases in the material.

4. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite relatively movable supports, acreasing member carried by one support, spaced creasing members movableupon the other support for cooperation with the member first mentioned,movable actuating means engaging the spaced creasing members, and meansarranged to vary the normal position of the actuating means.

5. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite.

relatively movable supports, a creasing member carried by one support,spaced creasing members movable upon the other support for cooperationwith the member first mentioned, movable actuating means engaging thespaced creasing members, and means arranged to vary the extent ofmovement of the actuating means.

6. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite relatively movable supports, acreasing member carried by one support, spaced creasing members movableupon the other support for co-operation with the member first mentioned,movable actuating means engaging the spaced creasing members, and meansarranged to vary the time in the operating cycle at which the actuatingmeans is moved.

'7. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite relatively movable supports,a creasing member carried by one sup-port, spaced creasing membersmovable upon the other support for co-operation with themember firstmentioned, a movable actuating member engaging the spaced creasingmembers and mounted upon the support therewith, a normally stationarycontact member for moving the actuating member, and means arranged todifierently position the contact member toward and from the actuatingmember.

8. Creasing mechanism comprising opposite relatively movable supports, acreasing member carried by one support, spaced creasing members movableupon the other support for co-operation with the member first mentioned,a movable actuating member engaging the spaced creasing members andmounted upon the support therewith, a normally stationary contact memberfor moving the actuating member, and means arranged to vary the time ofengagement of the contact member with the actuating member.

9. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,creasing blades carried by the supports, one of the blades being movableupon its support, a cam-bar movable upon the support with the movableblade to actuate said blade, and means movable by the mechanism in itsoperation for moving the bar upon the support.

10. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,creasing blades carried by the supports, one of the blades being movableupon its support and provided with a cam-surface, and means movable uponthe support and acting during the operating movement thereof upon thecam-surface of the blade.

11. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,creasing blades carried by the supports, one of the blades being movableupon its support, a bar movable upon the support with the movable blade,the blade and bar being provided with opposite depressions, a connectingmember lying in the depressions, and means for moving the bar.

12. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,creasing blades carried by the supports, one of the blades being movableupon its support, a cam-bar movable upon the support with the movableblade to actuate said blade, and a normally stationary member contactingwhile at rest with one extremity of the bar to produce its actuatingmovement.

13. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,creasing blades carried by the supports, one of the blades being movableupon its support, a cam-bar movable upon the support with the movableblade to actuate said blade, a normally stationary member contactingwith one extremity of the bar, and means arranged to fix the contactmember in different positions toward and from the bar.

14. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,creasing blades carried by the supports, one of the blades being movableupon its support, a cam-bar movable upon the support with the movableblade to actuate said blade, a normally stationary member contactingwith one extremity of the bar, and means arranged to fix the contactmember in different positions along the path of the bar.

15. In a creasing mechanism, opposite movable supports, spaced creasingblades movable upon one support, an intermediate creasing blade carriedby the other support and arranged to enter between the spaced blades,the blades traveling under the influence of the supports with advancingmaterial to act successively thereon, and a member traveling with thespaced blades and movable to force them into creasing relation to theintermediate blade.

16. In a creasing mechanism, opposite movable supports, spaced creasingblades movable upon one support, an intermediate creasing blade carriedby the other support and arranged to enter between the spaced blades, aspring for separating the spaced blades, and a member movable with thesupport for the spaced blades and as a conse-. quence of such movementforcing said blades into creasing relation to the intermediate blade.

17. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,spaced creasing blades movable upon one support, an intermediatecreasing blade carried by the other support and arranged to enterbetween the spaced blades, a spring for separating the spaced blades, amember movable upon the support with said spaced blades for forcing theminto creasing relation to the intermediate blade, and a stop variablylimiting the movement of the member under the influence of the spring.

18. In a creasing mechanism, opposite movable supports, spaced creasingblades movable upon one support, an intermediate creasing blade carriedby the other support and arranged to enter between the spaced blades, aspring for separating the spaced blades, and a bar movable with thesupport outside each of the spaced blades and as a consequence of suchmovement forcing said blades simultaneously into creasing relation tothe intermediate blade.

19. In a creasing mechanism, opposite relatively movable supports,spaced creasing blades movable upon one support, an intermediatecreasing blade carried by the other support and arranged to enterbetween the spaced blades, a spring for separating the spaced blades, abar movable upon the support outside each blade, and cam devicestransmitting the movement of the bars to the spaced blades and includingmembers positioned between said bars and blades.

20. Creasing mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatablethereon, an intermediate creasing blade carried by one roll, a pair ofcreasing blades pivoted upon the other roll for co-operation with theopposite sides of the intermediate blade, bars mounted to move togetheroutside the pivoted blades, the pivoted blades and bars being providedwith angular depressions arranged in registering pairs, a ball in eachpair of depres sions, and means carried by the frame for moving thebars.

21. Creasing mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatablethereon, an intermediate creasing blade carried by one roll, a pair ofcreasing blades pivoted upon the other roll for co-operation with theopposite sides of the intermediate blade, bars mounted to move togetheroutside the pivoted blades, the pivoted blades and bars being providedwith angular depressions arranged in registering pairs, a ball in eachpair of depressions, expansion-springs located between the pivotedblades, and means carried by the frame for moving the bars.

22. Creasing mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatablethereon, an intermediate creasing blade carried by one roll, a pair ofcreasing blades pivoted upon the other roll for co-cperation with theopposite sides of the intermediate blade, bars mounted to move togetheroutside the pivoted blades, the pivoted blades and bars being providedwith angular depressions arranged in registering pairs, a ball in eachpair of depressions, expansion-springs located between the pivotedblades and exerting their force to both separate the blades and to movethe bars longitudinally, and means for moving the bars against the forceof the springs to produce the creasing action of the blades.

23. Creasing mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatablethereon, an intermediate creasing blade carried by one roll, a pair ofcreasing blades pivoted upon the other roll for cooperation with theopposite sides of the intermediate blade, bars mounted to move togetheroutside the pivoted blades, cam devices transmitting the movement of thebars to the pivoted blades,

expansion-springs located between the pivoted blades and exerting theirforce to both separate the blades and move the bars longitudinally,means for moving the bars against the force of the springs to producethe creasing action of the blades, and an adjustable stop for the barsin their movement by the springs.

24. Creasing mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatablethereon, an intermediate creasing blade carried by one roll, a pair ofcreasing blades pivoted upon the other roll for co-operation with theopposite sides of the intermediate blade, bars mounted to move togetheroutside the pivoted blades, cam devices transmitting the movement of thebars to the pivoted blades, and a head carried by the frame for contactwith the connected bars.

25. Creasing mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatablethereon, an intermediate creasing blade carried by one roll, a pair ofcreasing blades pivoted upon the other roll for cooperation with theopposite sides of the intermediate blade, bars mounted to move togetheroutside the pivoted blades, cam devices transmitting the movement of thebars to the pivoted blades, a mounting-block variable in position uponthe frame adjacent to the path of one extremity of the connected bars,and a head carried by the block for contact with said bars.

26. Creasing mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatablethereon, an intermediate creasing blade carried by one roll, a pair ofcreasing blades pivoted upon the other roll for cooperation with theopposite sides of the intermediate blade, bars mounted to move togetheroutside the pivoted blades, cam devices transmitting the movement of thebars to the pivoted 5 blades, a mounting-block variable in position uponthe frame adjacent to the path of one extremity of the connected bars,and a head carried by the block for contact with said bars and beingvariable in position upon said block.

CUTLER D. KNOWLTON.

